"We'll Refund Your Wedding Gifts": What Is This "Divorce Ceremony" Going Viral on Social Media? Video Hits 1.22 Million Views

From a “wedding gift refund center” to reading a divorce declaration
Cho Seungyeon, a mother of twins and writer, prepared a divorce ceremony

A woman in South Korea has recently made headlines after holding a divorce ceremony.

Writer Cho Seungyeon is drawing attention after holding a "divorce ceremony." Screenshot from Instagram.

A video from a “divorce ceremony” held on October 2 at a cultural complex in Bukchang-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, has recently gone viral on social media, including Instagram. The ceremony was hosted by Cho Seungyeon, a writer, mother of twins, and cancer center researcher who studied at Johns Hopkins.

In the video, Cho wore a dress and held a bouquet, smiling brightly as guests congratulated her. The event turned the traditions of a conventional wedding on their head: it featured a “wedding gift refund center,” and the ceremony included blowing out candles instead of lighting them.

Rather than read a wedding declaration, she read a divorce declaration. And instead of tossing the bouquet to guests, she put the flowers back in water.

The much-discussed “wedding gift refund center” did not actually return in cash the wedding gifts Cho had received in the past. She reportedly gave lottery tickets and scratch-off tickets to friends who had supported her, along with handwritten letters expressing her gratitude.

The video has garnered 1.22 million views. People who watched it responded with messages supporting Cho’s fresh start, including, “I’m rooting for your new beginning,” “That’s a fresh and delightful idea,” and “Divorce is just one part of life; it’s wonderful to see you face it so positively.” Some, however, viewed the event negatively, saying, “Divorce is not something to celebrate.”

Cho wrote on Instagram, “I thought it wasn’t so different from a wedding, in that it celebrates a new beginning,” adding, “So I brought familiar elements of a wedding into the divorce ceremony.”

In an interview with BBC News, she also said, “Going through a major change like divorce gave me time to reflect on myself and think about the kind of life I want to lead from here on.” She added, “I held the event to mark the start of a new life after a difficult period and to thank the people who stood by me throughout the process.”

Meanwhile, a survey conducted by Korea Research in April among 1,000 adults nationwide found that 85% of respondents viewed divorce as an acceptable choice. Some, however, see respecting divorce as a personal choice and publicly celebrating it as two separate matters.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.